healthy

Looking for the ideal summer salad to take care of your body but you want to enjoy your meal? Let me share with you a salad recipe that is freshy so fresh, super tasty-yummy and healthy! I learned it from my mother that learnt it from my grandmother that learnt it from…. ok it’s a family recipe you got it and it is called Tabbouleh! This recipe is from Lebanon but since my mum is from Senegal (learn about Senegal in the article: 5 reasons to discover Senegal) and we have some Lebanese in my family there, I had the chance to get to know how to make the authentic Lebanese Tabbouleh! And the original recipe has really nothing to do with what you can buy in the supermarkets. I won’t lie to you, it takes time because you need to chop finely a lot of stuffs but you can prepare a big Tabbouleh and enjoy it several days. This fresh salad is ideal to eat like a starter or to have with a barbecue! Just thinking about it, I have the mouth wet and it is the time for me to eat! Bisous, I’m leaving you to have my meal now! Melissa ♡

Tabbouleh recipe

Ingredients (4pers):

1 bunch of spring onions

1 boot of fresh mint

1 boot of fresh parsley

2 medium tomatoes

4 tablespoons of bulgur wheat

1 cup boiling-hot water

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Fresh juice of 3 limes

Preparation:

Chop finely the onions, mint, parsley and cut the tomatoes in small squares

Pour the bulgur in a bowl and add the cup of boiling-hot water. Then cover the bowl with a little plate and let stand 15 minutes.

Once the bulgur has swelled place it in a big plate, add the onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Combine well and keep the tabbouleh in the fridge long enough to serve it fresh.

If you think that salads are boring you should definitely try this one! This exotic salad recipe is mixing sweet and salty flavors, with fresh prawns, tropical fruits such as mango, avocado and don’t forget to add a little crispy touch with some almonds, seeds of sesame, chia or pumpkin. For the sauce, just prepare a mix of olive oil with a fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I promise this exotic salad is a perfect summer recipe: tasty, healthy, easy to prepare and beautifully colored! And last but not least, this recipe is totally recommendable for your bikini action plan just like the recipe of the fresh melon soup (article available here). Have fun and enjoy!

Exotic salad recipe

Ingredients(2 persons):

18 fresh prawns

50g of lamb’s lettuce

1 mango

1 avocado

1 orange

8 cherry tomatoes

1 lemon/lime

4 stems of fresh coriander

1 soup soap of Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 handful of almonds

Sesame seeds

Chia seeds

Preparation:

Peel the fresh shrimps and place them in a small bowl.

Cut in small dices the mango/ cut in slices the avocado, orange and almonds/ cut in two the cherry tomatoes/ chop the coriander leaves and place each ingredient in a small bowl.

Place in a big bowl the lamb’s lettuce and cover it with each ingredient previously cut. Feel free to make a creative and lovely presentation.

Spread the topping of sesame and chia seeds and some fresh coriander leaves.

As the sunny days are coming, I guess you may have seriously activated your sexy bikini action plan! If you want to get fit in a happy mood for this summer and you are looking for new ideas of healthy recipes, this one is for you! I really love this recipe that I learnt from my mum (she is such a good cook) because it’s ♫ Fresh it’s so Fresh excitiiiiiing ♪, easy, healthy and very important TASTY; perfect to change a bit from eating salads! The recipe is mixing the famous Mediterranean flavors of the melon and Serrano ham which are served in 2 ways. It is a fresh melon soup aromatized with a little bit of pastis ( french liquor but you can replace it by Muscatel or Porto) and served with some chips of serrano ham, and a thin slice of melon and ham. This melon soup is a cool alternative to gaspacho that needs less ingredients and it will really impress your guests! In addition the melon has very good healthy and beauty properties as it contains vitamins A, B6 and C, beta carotene and potassium. It means this fruit is good for the eyes, protects the skin, helps to suntan and to get slimmer (diuretic properties) and it is an antioxydant. If you are vegetarian, you can replace the Serrano ham by beetroot, it will be really delicious and beautiful too. This healthy soup is really fast to prepare and should be realized at the last minute to keep al its freshness and crispy!

Melon soup recipe

Ingredients(4 persons):

1 big melon

1 soup spoon of Pastis, Moscatel or Porto (See I told you it was healthy 🙂 )

8 thin slices of Serrano ham or beetroot for vegetarians

Fresh leaves of basil

Pepper

Material : un mixer, 4 transparent glasses and small plates.

Preparation:

Melon : cut 5 thin slices of melon and cut in small dices the 5th slice of melon. Then mix the 3/4 remaining part of the melon and add Pastis.

Serrano : keep 4 thin slices of Serrano/beetroot and grill 4 other slices in the oven while you are mixing the melon (3 min at 180° are enough/ 55 min at 150° for the beetroot)

Presentation : arrange the soup of melon and the dices of melon in a transparent glass, add pepper on the top, dress the chips of Serrano or beetroot on/in the transparent glass and add some fresh leaves of basil. Then place the melon and Serrano/beetroot slice in a way to create a structured plate. Serve and enjoy immediately.

It is really amazing how anxiety can affect our emotions, body and behaviour. Do you often have: insomnia, appetite and digestive problems, tiredness, headaches, decreased libido or muscle tensions? Do you regularly feel irritated, worried, undecided, have difficulty to concentrate or negative thoughts? Well you may need to relax a bit because you are having some symptoms of anxiety! If you don’t want to wait for the week-end or the annual leave to get rid of your stress and want to learn how to relieve your stress anytime during the week: you should test the benefits of yoga! In addition to improve the flexibility and build muscle strength, the practice of yoga can reduce stress, boost immunity, ease migraines, boost sexual performance (I confirm! kidding), help to sleep deeper, focus, feel happier, give peace of mind and a lot more! I started yoga just one year ago and it helps me so much to feel more relaxed although I still have a lot more to learn. My yoga guru taught me 5 yoga poses for the stress management that are really easy for beginners and do not require to twist your body into pretzel shapes! Don’t worry, it is never too late to begin yoga, you can start at any age and you don’t even have to be a hippie;) You can test these poses everyday whether in the morning to start your day with a positive and relaxed mindset or before to go to bed if you suffer from insomnia. I would be really glad to know if you noticed some benefits of these yoga poses. Keep me posted in the comments and ♫ Relax, take it easyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ♪)! Bisous, Melissa ♡

Begin sitting on the floor with your legs together and straight in front of you.

Bend out the left leg and place the left foot next to the left buttock.

Slowly lower your body towards the right leg, try to touch the head on the leg, which should be well stretched.

Place the hands on the right foot and keep your forearms as close as possible to the ground.

Stay in this position 30 seconds and execute this position twice on each side

Some benefits: Calms the mind, improves the strength of the back and thighs, relax the nervous system, tones the abdominal muscles, improves the flexibility of the knee and spine.

4. JATHARA PARIVRTANASANA – The Abdominal Twist

Steps:

Lie on the floor with the arms stretched out at shoulder height. Your back is fully supported on the floor.

Exhale and smoothly lift the straight legs to a 90 degree angle. Take a breath or two.

Exhale and lower the legs together to the right and reach the feet toward the right hand. Keep the left shoulder pressed against the floor, and don’t allow the torso to roll toward the legs.

Then take your gaze to the left hand, hold and breathe into the upper abdomen for 20 breaths.

Look back at the sky, inhale and smoothly lift back to center.

Take a breath or two and repeat the posture to the left.

Some benefits: reduces stress and anxiety, stretches the chest, obliques and lower back muscles, improves digestion, improves the flexibility of the spine.

5. NADI SODHANA – Alternate Nostril breathingSteps:

Sit comfortably making sure your spine is straight.

Place your left hand on the left knee, palms open to the sky.

With you right hand, bring the index finger and middle finger in between the eyebrows.

Close your eyes and take a deep and smooth breath in and out through your nose.

Put the thumb on the right nostril and inhale through the left nostril slowly and steadily.

Close the left nostril with the ring finger and little finger and retain your breath at the top of the inhale for a brief pause.

While removing the right thumb from the right nostril, breathe out slowly from the right. Pause briefly at the bottom of the exhale.

Breathe in from the right nostril and exhale from the left. The first round of alternate nostril breathing is done.

Repeat up to 10 rounds.

Some benefits: harmonizesthe left and right hemispheres of the brain, reduces stress, relax the nervous system, center to mind to the present moment, reduces insomnia, supports our lungs and respiratory functions.

I am very exited to share with you this African recipe that is so special to me! First of all, the chicken yassa is one of my favorite meals and it is a recipe that I learned from my mum who is from Senegal. When I am feeling down, cooking a chicken yassa for the people I love or just for myself have the magic power to make me feel happier 🙂 Everyone that has tasted it loves this exotic flavor, so of course it makes you feel great! But what is this magic recipe?? Well, is it a Senegalese recipe of a chicken marinated in a lemon sauce with onions. It looks simple but this recipe is really tasty, healthy (almost no fat and the lemon has extraordinary virtues for the health), cheap (just 4 main ingredients) and easy to cook. Ok you may think I am totally crazy, it is just a chicken with some onion and lemons! Well try my family’s recipe and you will see that I was not lying 😉

Ingredients (4 persons):

4 chicken legs

4 onions

4 limes

200g of basmati rice

1 glass of water

Oil

1 hot pepper

Salt & pepper

Preparation:

This recipe is a fast version of the original recipe. The chicken should normally be marinated (in oil, minced onions, limes juice, pepper, salt and hot pepper) during at least 2 hours before to be cooked. If you are in a hurry, this recipe below is very practical and as tasty I promise. Time: around 1 hour.

Brown the chicken on both sides in a pan or in the oven with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mince the onions while the chicken is getting a nice golden color. Don’t forget to check the chicken!

Once the chicken legs are brown, set them aside in a big cooking pot. Grill the onions in the same pan where you have browned the chicken. While the onions are cooking, press the limes’ juice.

When the onions and limes juice are ready, add them to the cooking pot with the chicken legs. Add also the water, the hot pepper and more salt& pepper.

Put the cooking pot on a medium fire during minimum 30min. However, more time it is one the fire, the better it is. You will notice that the chicken yassa is even better and tastier when you warm it the next day. While the yassa is cooking, prepare your basmati rice.

This year I am investigating new healthy recipes with a special focus on the breakfast as everybody say it is the most important meal of the day. I don’t want to fall into an extremist diet but I try to eat less sugar (white bread, industrial juice & cereals) and less dairy products ( yes I love to eat a piece of camenbert with my coffee…). The idea is to replace all this by fresh and homemade stuffs. So last week-end I experimented a recipe of healthy pancakes totally gluten-free and lactose-free but sooO tasty, gourmand and fluffy. Ok Ok I’m maybe over exited! In this recipe, the pancake dough is simply made with muesli, bananas, eggs and baking powder. So there is no need to use flour, milk and sugar. You can also add some salt, cinnamon, natural vanilla and a bit of rhum (yes why not!) to bring more flavor to the pancakes. Then for the topping, I think a mix of chocolate sauce, with fresh strawberries and crispy nuts is so delicious and matches very well with the pancake dough made of bananas.